Mugabe's Zanu PF burns over bonuses

HARARE - Brawling post-congress Zanu PF bigwigs have opened another battlefront in their party’s seemingly unstoppable factional and succession wars, this time exchanging deadly barbs over the government’s unfulfilled bonus promises to restless civil servants.

At the same time, the continued inability by the broke State to pay its employees their promised 13th cheques for last year is raising fresh tensions, with disaffected public sector doctors, nurses and teachers threatening to embark on debilitating mass actions over the issue.

Well-placed Zanu PF sources told the Daily News yesterday that the thorny bonus issue had become a “poison-laced game of poker” in President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party, with many bigwigs taking positions over the matter that merely advanced their faction’s interests.

“The war has now moved to bonuses and it’s literally a free-for-all at the moment. The sad thing is that many of those diving in to throw punches are only interested in their factional interests and not the civil servants or the welfare of the country.

“The fact is that there are two irreconcilable issues at play here. The first is that the economy is in serious distress and the government is broke, which means that it cannot afford the bonuses.

“The second is that the president did promise civil servants their 13th cheques, which means that the money must be found somehow. So, something has to give — hence the current poison-laced game of poker among the various party factions over the issue,” an insider said.

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo deftly kicked the sensitive issue for touch when approached for comment yesterday, referring the Daily News to the government, which he said was best-placed to offer insights into the matter.

“We cannot comment on the matter, since the minister (Public Service minister Prisca Mupfumira) has already made statements on that,” Khaya Moyo said.

A forthright Mupfumira said on Tuesday that the issue of bonuses for civil servants was not a priority at the moment for the cash-strapped government, which is battling to raise funds to feed millions of citizens facing starvation.

She also said that she was not sure when the money for bonuses was going to be made available by the fiscus — although she reiterated the government’s commitment to fulfil Mugabe’s promise.

“It is a matter of priorities my son, people are starving out there and government has no money. So, the priority at the moment is to feed the people.

“I urge civil servants to be patient because like we said, we are committed to paying (them their bonuses) because the president said we must and now it’s a matter of when not if.

“We do not have a date yet because of the other things we are grappling with, but treasury is looking for the money and once it is there, they will be paid. We all need bonus, don’t we?” Mupfumira said.

To underscore the boiling factional war over the bonus issue, an outspoken Zanu PF activist aligned to embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction, Energy Mutodi, has savaged politburo member Jonathan Moyo over the matter.

He said contrary to recent suggestions by the Higher Education minister that 13th cheques should not be a right, the government should pay the outstanding bonuses as soon as possible.

“The statement by Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo in which he said that bonus was not a right for government workers and that some civil servants did not deserve it because they are ‘drunkards and non-performers’ is unfortunate and should not have been said by a Zanu PF minister and a politburo member,” Mutodi posted on his Facebook page.

And twisting his factional knife in, he claimed that ever since Moyo had made the remarks, there had allegedly been disquiet among civil servants who felt let down by the government.

“The statement by the honourable minister has given a wrong impression that government has a callous unconcern (sic) for the civil servants who have for a long time endured economic hardships emanating from economic mismanagement and poor policies by government among other factors such as sanctions.

“The failure to pay bonuses is just one symptom of failure on the part of government and if professor Moyo was an alert and hardworking minister, he should have argued for the reversal of the destructive policies that continue to harm the economy such as the indigenisation policy that is scaring away investors,” Mutodi charged.

In the meantime, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, Francis Rwodzi, told the Daily News yesterday that since the government was reneging on its bonus promises, it should brace for strikes in February.

“We embarked on a strike and after we were paid our December salaries we made a statement that we will not be able to render our services if our bonuses were not paid and we will down tools in February,” Rwodzi said.

At the same time, the decision by the government to order all teachers on leave to immediately return to work has angered teachers unions who say the directive is illegal and that they will challenge it in court.

According to a circular that has been delivered to all schools around the country, the Public Service Commission intends to visit schools to ensure that teachers comply with the order.

Zimta Chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu has said the directive is a violation of leave conditions for teachers, adding that his union will approach the courts to seek redress.

He also said that the circular had come at a time when teachers were worried about whether they would get their promised bonuses.

Comments (33)

I hope all what the teachers' unions are saying about the recalling of the teachers on vacation leave will not only be talk. We have had enough of this. When will we see the very clear writing on the wall that these are indicators of a collapsing regime. Nothing will come out of these clowns

Bratee - 22 January 2016

One can only make a payment when he has the money. If he does not have the money he can not pay for anything and this includes the government, if it does not have the money then it should not pay bonuses. Its as simple as that.

augustine mututu - 22 January 2016

Keep it up!

Keept it up! - 22 January 2016

Yes Augustine, its true and I wholly agree with you. The govt has no money, Chinamasa, the finance minister knows that. That is why he had rightly anounced the suspension of bonus payments for about 2 years. But only for mugabe to scoff Chinamasa off and promissed there will definitely be bonusses for the civil servants. So we cannot just leave it at 'if it does not have the money then it should not pay bonuses'. mugabe should make an announcement regretting his reckless statement. The country is in the state it is today mainly because of mugabe's arrogant and reckless bravado statements. During the liberation war and early years of independence we wrongly assumed mugabe to be a highly educated and visionary man - NO he IS NOT. mugabe is not even HERO STATUS calibre. So in short, mugabe has created this tension and it should only be him to honestly apologise to the affected civil servants. But knowing as we all do that this is an unapologetic person, chances are he will not do that, just as he hasnt apologised for the gukurahundi massacres - the Nation needs to all point a finger at this man who has almost single handedly brought the country to where we are now. By NATION I mean even those in zanu pf.

Jackson Magaya - 22 January 2016

but then, failure to pay must be accompanied by an apology. The government promised and for that matter it was the head of state who gave the assurance that civil servants would receive their 13th cheque. if the government has become broke they should publicly apologize to the civil service. apa takundwa nehurumende ya morgan yaibhadhara vanhu ne nguva. zvanyadza sure.

zvirozviyedzwa - 22 January 2016

@Jackson Magaya......couldn't agree more my bro, Mugabe must come out and rectify and apologise to all the civil servants for his cheap politicking. Vanhu ava ve zanu vane mwoyo yakaipisisa zvekupedzisira....and now they are planning a huge birthday party for bob which will cost probably a million US$. It's unbelievable considering how tough things are for the majority of the people. The only option is for people to hit the streets and demonstrate because as long as people keep quiet this will continue.

misty - 22 January 2016

I challenge Daily News journalists and those from AMH to come forward and tell us the last day they received their salaries and let alone their 13th cheque. Why should they cry more than the bereaved? WHY?. They better take time to sort their own salary issues with their employers. Whilist i personally acknowledge my right as a civil servant to my bonus i do take into cognizant the environment in which the government is operating under. The fiscal space is tight and we all know it. And it is the role of journalists to report responsibly when covering events. The daily news got a grim warning to that effect. The paper has turned itself into a mouth piece for Zanu

sadza mushumha - 22 January 2016

The paper has turned itself into a mouth piece for a certain faction in Zanu Pf and it is known by this writer the dynamics that are going on between certain journalists from this paper and SK's runnerboys at Crown Plaza Hotel where money is exchanging hands big time. For today we will leave the hotel number. It go out to show how low journalism standards have fallen in Zimbabwe. The khakhi envelop has replaced professioalism and journalists are told what to write and what not to write. Lets not be fooled, the writer of this story is not also worried with the welfare of you and me civil servants. He is very much worried about how much the publication of this story would earn him. It is pathetic as how this our society has been riddled with peverts, selfish and corrupt minds. It is sad. Indeed sad.

sadza mushumha - 22 January 2016

To the daily news please keep on with the wonderful job you are doing we your readers are blessed to have you on our side . We all know bonuses are given to workers when the organisation they work for post profits .It would be foolish to award bonuses to workers when it is making losses which are making it broke ..and facing shut .Mugabe just opened his mouth and promised the civil workers that they will get bonuses and that makes clear that having gone to school in the 30s he is as good as a grade seven level of thinking bcoz other wise he should known that the govt is broke and refrained from making stupid promises which the easy to deceive civil workers foolishingly swallowed .. Now the worst is coming no salaries shall be paid to civil workers in next few months ahead Simply bcoz they is no money .That is a shame for govt headed by someone with 12 degrees which we all now know are totally useless .

Diibulaanyika - 22 January 2016

Iwe @sadza mushumha, the Daily News is doing a wonderful job, even Grace acknowledged that what the Daily News writes about is the truth but she couldn't tell how they get the news. DN did not create factions in Zanu PF, they were created about Robert Mugabe himself in a bid to divide his party so he could rule forever. Its only now that he cannot control those factions and anything for that matter that people like @sadza mushumha are complaining. All Zimbabwe's problems are caused by Robert Mugabe and yet he went on to promise bonuses when there is clearly no money in the purse. For that reason he has caused pandemonium in the party and country.

Inyika - 22 January 2016

Zvarwadzaka maZanu! Munoda murimi kutuka vamwe. Now the jokes are on you. Losers!

Zvaramba - 23 January 2016

ZANU,ZANU, year of birth 1963, that's when the Satanic organization was born and if we do not pray this satanic organization will be an albatross on our necks forever. God help Zimbabwe.

Nameless - 23 January 2016

Now that HE is back can we please have our bonuses. Ma Because awanda . The president said we are entitled to them on 18 April 2015 on a rainy afternoon. We could have simply accepted Chinamasa's statement but instead the President overturned that statement . So can we please have our bonuses in our accounts with immediate effect. We have already budgeted those monies.

If the Zim Dollar was still in circulation Bob the Klingon could simply change the face value, add a few zeros to the original figure and print more and more and issue, yes issue, paper which is worth less than un-printed and un-embossed coarse toilet paper. Right now this regime is not able to pay salaries never mind bonuses all this while using real money.

Nooshie - 27 January 2016

Guys imi makatombowana maSalaries zvenyu,hoo mirai muone!

Mwana Wevhu - 27 January 2016

Zimbabweans cunt jus unite, zvine basa rey zvekut civil servant or pvt sector? THE point is Mugabe n his zanu pf has failed the nation. they are fools full of empty promises. we don't nid 36 years to realise tht we are in all this becoz of this bunch of these self-centered, heartless, cruel ..... failures. PASI NEZAAAANU, PASI NEHARAHWA YATSEMUKA MUSANA IYO!!!

francis - 28 January 2016

Zimbabweans cunt jus unite, zvine basa rey zvekut civil servant or pvt sector? THE point is Mugabe n his zanu pf has failed the nation. they are fools full of empty promises. we don't nid 36 years to realise tht we are in all this becoz of this bunch of these self-centered, heartless, cruel ..... failures. PASI NEZAAAANU, PASI NEHARAHWA YATSEMUKA MUSANA IYO!!!

francis - 28 January 2016

Nonsense

emzo - 28 January 2016

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